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Oxford staff urge modest fee for shoreline tree-permit applications; board hesitates
Summary
Code enforcement reported 19 permits since January covering 52 trees and suggested a modest application fee to offset staff time; select board members were split, favoring fees only if workload or enforcement risk increases.
Oxford's code enforcement officer told the select board that since January 1 she has processed 19 permit applications covering 52 trees and that each site visit and review takes roughly two hours. She said neighboring towns charge between $25 and $75 and that the town currently receives no state reimbursement for enforcement work. "Since January 1, it was a total of, 19 for 18 of those were involved 52 separate trees," she said.
Board members debated whether to charge per application or per tree and expressed reluctance to impose a fee for every permit. One selectman said, "I can't support fee for for every tree," arguing that a small workload does not justify a new recurring charge, while another member suggested a modest fee (around $25) for complex shoreland assessments if the workload grows. The board asked staff to notify the manager if capacity issues emerge and to return with a recommendation if more staffing or a fee becomes necessary.
